Absolute Prison (Part 1)
Absolute Prison (Part 1) is the pilot episode of Ben 10: Eternal Forms. Plot The episode starts by flashing through several dramatic scenes from the Ultimate Alien episode Absolute Power, suddenly freezing at the very end of the fight between Gwen and Kevin in the arcade. The picture darkens somewhat. (Paradox, offscreen): You may remember what happens afterwards. The screen continues to flash through the episode, showing up to the very end. (Paradox, offscreen): But that is not what happens this time. Screen flashes back to the end of Gwen and Kevin’s fight, and the camera turns to an empty space in the room. Paradox walks onscreen towards the camera. (Paradox): You see, everything that happens to anyone is dependent on the choices made by themselves and the people around them. Back in “Absolute Power”, as I hear you call that event, Gwendolyn here didn’t make a certain choice, either because she decided against it or it completely slipped her mind in all the commotion. But what if she did? What if she did make that choice? How would it effect her world, Kevin’s world, Ben’s world? The answer to this is quite intriguing indeed. Paradox snaps his fingers and the fight resumes, right up to when Gwen manages to escape and meets back up with Ben and Morningstar. They have the same conversation as the original episode for a while. (Ben): From now on, we do this my way. There is a long pause. Gwen spends a moment in deep thought. (Gwen): (glaring at the floor) I’m sorry Ben, I can’t let that happen. (looks at both of them) Don’t follow me. (storms off) (Ben): Wait, what? Gwen, get back here! Ben runs after her, but when he gets out of the alley, she’s already disappeared. He throws up his hands in frustration. Morningstar walks up slowly after him. (Ben): Great. Just'' great.'' (Morningstar): Well, I guess I’ll be off then. (starts to hover) (Ben): Wait, where are you going? (Morningstar): I’m here for Gwen, not for you. And since she’s obviously going solo, I have no need to stick around. (flies off) (Ben): Oh, COME ON! The camera transitions over to Gwen’s room just as Gwen is quietly shutting the door behind her. She walks over to her closet, opens it, and pulls a package wrapped in brown paper off the top shelf from between two spellbooks. She kneels on the ground in front of it and rips off the wrapping. Inside is another spellbook, entitled “Archamada Volacron”. It is covered in gems and diabolical looking symbols, and there is a metal latch holding it closed. (Gwen): *sighs* I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this. (puts her hand on the lock) Hesarada utuge. The lock clicks open, and she opens up the cover. The pages suddenly take on a life of their own, fluttering to a page somewhere near the middle. What appears to be smog of pure darkness drifts up from the page. Gwen stumbles backward onto her hands, looking both repulsed and terrified. (Gwen, hyperventilating slightly): I… I’m doing this for Kevin. She pulls herself together and sits back up, leaning over the book again. She runs her finger down the page to a certain spell. (Gwen): Bingo. She mutters some incantations under her breath, then rips the page right out of the book. Another page just like it grows back. She flips through a few more pages and lands on another, this one with a diagram of a flask surrounded by runic text instructions. She grabs a shoebox full of potion components and begins to work.) The camera shifts to outside Gwen’s house. Across the street and obscured by some trees sits Kevin. He stares up at the house, grinning maniacally. THEME SONG Kevin steps out from behind the trees and begins creeping across the street, a huge, crooked smile plastered across this face. After a few steps he stops and take a long whiff of the air. (Kevin): Mmmm, it’ll be sad to see all your mana go, lovely Gwen, it smells- (stops mid-sentence, takes another sniff, his face scrunches up in disgust) Ugh, what is that stench? Kevin covers his nose and mouth with his hands. He looks up at the house again, and notices a purple flash of light coming from Gwen’s room. He lowers his hand and chuckles. (Kevin): Nice try, babe, but it’ll take more than a bit of bad mana to kill my appetite. He takes another step forward. Suddenly, Cannonbolt flies out of nowhere and slams right into his side. As soon as they hit the ground, Kevin turns onto his back and tosses Cannonbolt off with his legs. Both of them land on their feet a good ways away from each other. (Kevin, furious): Stay out of this, Tennyson! (Cannonbolt): And just stand around while you suck the life out of my cousin? Not a chance, Kevin! Kevin roars and charges forward. Cannonbolt hits the Omnitrix, transforming into Ultimate Cannonbolt, and charges right into him. They collide. Scene cuts to Gwen’s room. She is sitting in front of a bowl filled with a dark yellow-green liquid, picking up a clear flask. There is a loud crashing sound, and the room shakes. She looks solemnly down at the bowl. (Gwen): It’s now or never. (takes a funnel and starts to pour the liquid into the flask) Back outside, Kevin and Ultimate Cannonbolt are going at it at full force. At first, they’re pushing against each other hand to hand. Kevin goes intangible and passes through Cannonbolt, freezing him solid. Within seconds, he breaks out of the ice through sheer force and turns around to face his opponent, but it met with a Swampfire fireball to the face. Cannonbolt flies back, but in the process curls up into a ball. He hits a house on the other side of the street and rebounds, heading straight for him. Kevin flies upwards, but Cannonbolt bounces up after him, and he still gets smack in the back pretty good. They both fall to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and asphalt rubble. Suddenly, fully armored up Humungousaur rises from the dust and shouts his name. Kevin lunges at him with his Rath claw, but Humungousaur grabs him by the leg, swings him around in circles, and throws him off into the distance. Cut to Gwen again. She is standing now, the open flask in hand. She takes a long, deep breath and brings it up to her lips, about to drink it. But she hesitates, her hands shaking. Tears well up in her eyes. Suddenly, Kevin crashes through the wall of her room to her side. She screams in surprise and stumbles back, but she quickly regains her composure and puts her empty hand up in a mana-charged guard. Kevin looks up at her, his face cast in shadow from the rubble, yellow eyes practically glowing. He grins and begins to pull himself to his hands and knees. She freezes, her eyes wide. He reaches out his diamond claw towards her. (Humungousaur, offscreen): Not on my watch! Kevin falters and looks out the hole in the wall just as Humungousaur’s hand bursts through, grabs him, and pulls him out. Gwen runs to the very edge of the hole and gazes down upon the scene. The whole street has been ripped apart, small fires burn at the edges of the pavement, and several cars had been flipped on their backs and sides all down the road. Kevin and Humungousaur continue to exchange blows in the middle of the road. Her eyes narrow, and her grip tightens on the flask. Humungousaur grabs the back of Kevin’s head and pushes it down, rubbing it into the pavement. Kevin counters by using his Armadrillo powers to crack the ground, trapping Humungousaur in the deep fissures. Kevin turns to him and is about to smash his face in, but before he can a blast of pink energy knocks him to the side. Gwen is shown floating on a platform a little ways away. (Ben, to Gwen, smiling): So you’re finally starting to see it my way. (Gwen): Not even close. She makes her way over to Kevin, still platforming but lowering herself much closer to the ground. Kevin stares at her hungrily. (Gwen, commanding): Kevin, I need you to hold still. (Kevin, mocking): What, so you can sprinkle some of your magic pixie dust on me and make me all better? Gwen stares at him coldly, not denying the fact. (Kevin): Yeah right. Like that’ll work. And even if it does, why didn’t you last time I turned into a freak, huh? I guess you didn’t care as much as you said you did- Starting from when he asked why she didn’t last time, Gwen begins to grow enraged. At the end, she explodes and interrupts him, shooting a huge blast of mana right at him. He flied backwards and smashes into the house across the street, then sliding down to the ground in a heap. She slowly walks over to him, and with a wave of her hand creates several mana cuffs around Kevin’s limbs and waist that strap him up against the wall. Her eyes burn bright pink, and the air around her crackles with pure energy. (Gwen, slightly distorted voice): I said, hold still. '' She approaches him, coming right up to his face. He stares at her, speechless by confusion and fear. She takes out the flask and, with a moments hesitation, downs it in one gulp. She stands shock still for a moment, but soon regains her composure and kneels down so that she is at eye level with Kevin. She takes her hand and places it on his forehead. (Gwen): ''Rasra iterdraes piga virnam tre gavirnae nesgus! All of the mana shackles dissolve and rush back into Gwen, and are used to help power the spell. Black lightning flashes around the two of them, and both their eyes glow deep purple. Kevin screams out in agony. The camera suddenly zooms out. There is a huge explosion. Gwen flied back through the air, badly beaten and seemingly out cold. Ben transforms into Jetray and catches her, flies up in a loop, then gently carries her down to the ground. The smoke clears from the explosion and we see Kevin, kneeling paralyzed on the ground, his head down, quivering slightly. Jetray turns back into Ben, and he gets down on his knees beside his cousin. (Ben, shaking Gwen by the shoulders, panicked): Gwen! Gwen, get up! Gwen blinks her eyes open, then pushes herself up into a seated position. (Gwen): I’m alright. (glances at Kevin) And Kevin will be soon. (Ben): So you cured him? (Gwen): Sort of, it’s a bit more complicated than that… (Ben): What’s that supposed to mean? What did you do? (Gwen): That was an ancient spell that allows the user to transfer any major mental ailment or instability from one being to another. In this case, I transferred Kevin’s insanity into myself. (Ben): WHAT?!? (Gwen): The transfer should be occurring any minute now. (Ben, furious): How could you be such an idiot? At least taking down Kevin was possible. If you go crazy and turn into an Anodite, we won’t stand a chance! (Gwen, looking away, emotionlessly): I know. I thought of that. And I have taken the proper measure to ensure that the destruction I cause will be kept to a minimum. (Ben): What do you mean, measures? You didn’t even warn us! (Gwen, starting to lose it emotionally): What did you think the potion was for? (Ben, shouting): I thought it was part of that stupid ritual! Gwen’s before blank face is beginning to show hints of sadness and fear. She goes silent and closes her eyes. (Ben, worried): Gwen? (pause) Gwen, what was that potion? Another pause. She turns back to him and opens her eyes, looks him in the eye intensely. (Gwen): It was a poison. In eight hours, I’ll be dead. COMMERCIAL BREAK (Ben): Oh my... Gwen, you idiot! (Gwen): I’m sorry Ben, it was the only way to keep myself from causing too much damage. (Ben, firmly, almost angry): Reverse the spell. Reverse it right now. ''Put the insanity in someone else, put it back in Kevin, I don’t care. Just get it out of you. Then get the antidote and cure the poison. I am ''not ''letting you do this. (Gwen): Even if I wanted to, I can’t. (Ben): And why not!?! (Gwen): Because there is no antidote! There is a long silence. Ben’s face falls. (Gwen): That’s why I picked it. I knew that when I went crazy I would do anything to cure myself, so I picked something that couldn’t be cured even by an Anodite. Gwen begins to look a bit frightened. (Gwen): There’s nothing you can do for me. Kevin will be fine, I won’t, and that’s the end of it. And you probably won’t have to worry about me doing anything extreme in those eight hours either; I added a memory represent to the potion so I won’t remember anything from up to five minutes before I drank it… Near the end of her line, her voice begins to crack. She starts to tear up, then leaps forward into Ben’s arms. They hug each other tightly, not seeming like they’re going to let go any time soon. Ben even looks on the verge of crying. (Gwen, emotionally): Ben, you’re the best cousin I could have hoped for, thank you so much for everything. (Ben): Gwen, why… (Gwen): Tell my parents and Kenny that I am grateful for all they’ve done, and that they have always been there for me and I can’t thank them enough for it. And tell Kevin… tell him that I’m doing this for him. Tell him that I love him. (Ben): I will… I will… They hug in silence for a little while longer. (Gwen): Ben, there’s something I’ve always wondered. (Ben): Yeah? Gwen suddenly stiffens, and her face goes straight and expressionless. She takes a step away from Ben, almost enough to break out of the embrace. (Gwen): Why am so attached to this body? Ben stares at her fearfully takes a step back. (Gwen): I have always consciously chosen to remain as this fragile, semi-intelligent sack of water and carbon, despite the fact that I could be ''so much more. (Ben): Gwen… Gwen, no! (Gwen): Hmm, it must be a pride thing; of course, how could such a pathetic species last this long without the belief that they are the greatest beings nature has ever crafted? Gwen laughs coldly, and takes a few more steps back. She is smiling, but her eyes seem blank and lifeless. (Gwen): Well, I gain no benefit from hanging on to that pride. Why settle for perceived superiority when I can truly achieve it? Her eyes begin to glow, and she levitates a few feet above the ground. (Gwen, crazed): Well, I’m through with mediocrity. As she says this, she ascends even higher, her whole body glowing. The sky seems to darken, and the wind picks up. (Gwen, distorted voice): It’s time for me to rise to greatness, rise to PERFECTION! On that last word, her skin begins to dissolve, revealing her true Anodite form. A huge mana shockwave flies off of her, knocking Ben to the ground, kicking up massive chunks of asphalt, and even flipping a few cars. Gwen, now fully Anodite, laughs loudly and maniacally, then blasts up into the air and out of sight without another word. (Ben, screaming): GWEN! The screen cuts to black. The audience looks through Kevin’s eyes as he blinks them open. All he sees is a blurred of pink flying up into the sky and vanishing. Camera cuts to an outside view of him as he struggles to his feet. He trudges over towards Ben, who is staring up into the sky is devastated shock, rubbing his head. (Kevin, groaning): Uh, what just happened… Ben? Ben keeps staring into the sky, wordlessly mouthing something incomprehensible. (Kevin): Ben? When, what the heck is going on? Ben slowly turns to him, his eyes narrowed to slits. (Ben, screaming): This is all YOUR FAULT! Ben stomps up to Kevin, to enraged to even remember the Ultimatrix. Kevin takes a surprised step back. (Kevin): What’s my fault? (looks around) And where’s Gwen? Ben bites his lip and looks to the side. (Ben): She’s… she’s gone. (Kevin): What’s that supposed to mean? (pause) Is she… dead? (Ben): No. But she will be in eight hours, all thanks to you, you monster. Kevin gawks at Ben, horrified. (Kevin): Wh…what happened? (before Ben can answer, falls to his knees and bangs a fist on the ground, shouting:) WHERE IS SHE? All of a sudden, a huge plasma blast comes out of seemingly nowhere and hits Kevin square in the side, knocking him away a few yards. Grandpa Max walks into view, full Plumber suit, toting a huge laser cannon under his arm. (Max): Get away from my grandson, you freak! Kevin looks back up at him and bares his teeth. He roars and charges at Max, turning his diamond hand into a spike. Max dodges and shoots him three times in the side of the face, sending him tumbling again. He takes out a grenade and throws it at Kevin as he’s struggling to his feet and aiming a fireball, knocking him to the ground again. Max takes aim with his gun and Kevin extends his Rath claw, and they are about to have another go when Ben jumps in front of them and intervenes. (Ben): Guys, stop it! They freeze in their places and stare at Ben in confusion. (Ben): Let’s get this straight. Grandpa, Kevin’s not insane anymore. Kevin, Grandpa still thinks you’re insane. No reason to fight. So can we settle down and focus on what’s important here? (Max): You sure about this, Ben? (Ben): Positive. Kevin rises to his feet and puts all his hands in the air. (Kevin): He’s right, I’m cured. Max lowers his weapon and puts it away, eyeing Kevin suspiciously. (Max): Where’s Gwen? (Kevin): That’s what I want to know. (Ben, sighing): …we should probably sit down for this. The scene switches to them sitting on the side of the road next to a small flaming car part of some sort that was lit in the battle. (Ben, finishing his explanation): …at that point the insanity started to get to her and she gave this speech about the mediocrity of the human race or something. Then… then… (Max): She went full Anodite. Ben nods. Kevin continues to stare at Ben flabbergasted by the whole story. (Ben): And then she flew off into the sky and blasted off. I have no clue where she is now. They’re all silent for a moment. (Max): This sort of reminds me of how Verdona acted before she left for Anodyne again. She said it was hard to gain control of her power after she had been in a weaker form for so long. She spent days just flying around the planet before coming back and finally saying goodbye. (Ben): In that case she’s probably not doing that, since she’s not worried about gaining control at all. (Kevin, blankly): No. She is. The look at him, surprised that he spoke at all. He stares off into space. (Kevin): My problem makes a person insane, not stupid. I knew that I would be able to take people down more efficiently if I knew how to control my powers. Every moment I didn’t spend hunting or sleeping I spent training. (Ben): But if she spends a few days flying around… (Kevin): She won’t do that. She’ll be impatient. It’ll be an hour at most before she starts acting on her anger. (Ben): Then we have to come up with a plan, fast. (Max): Its no use chasing after her while she’s traveling, if we’re going to catch her we have to do it on the ground. (Kevin): Yeah, but how are we supposed to find her? (Ben): We send out a message to the public. If they see her or anything that might be her flying around, they send out an alert. We’ll use it to map her movements. (Kevin): Sounds good, I guess. What do we do when we find her? (Ben): What we always do. We improvise. Now let’s get to my house so I can set this thing up. They stand up and start to walk, but then they realized that Max hadn’t moved. (Ben): You coming Grandpa? (Max): No. I’m gonna go rally the Plumber’s Kids. (Kevin): Aren’t they all at the Plumber’s Academy? (Max): I found some new recruits. Ben’s fame really helped get the word out. Good luck! Max gets up and leaves. Ben and Kevin leave as well in the opposite direction. Scene cuts to outside of Ben’s house. Ben is standing on the front step, unlocking the door, and Kevin is standing behind him on the walkway. (Ben, to Kevin): I’ll run in and take care of this real fast, and you wait out here since you can’t fit through the door. The lock clicks and he opens the door. Standing right inside it is Grandma Verdona, wearing a blue party hat on her head and a giant grin on her face. She holds a party noisemaker up to her mouth and blows into it, the paper coil unrolling and squealing in Ben’s face. (Ben, surprised): Grandma?!? (Verdona, cheerily): Oh, hello Ben! Isn’t it wonderful? Ben stares in silence. Kevin peeks through the door at her. (Verdona): Oh, and Curtis is here too! (Kevin): What the heck? (Ben): Grandma… why are you here? (Verdona): To celebrate, obviously. Isn’t that what you’re here for? (Kevin, rather infuriated): Celebrate what? There’s nothing to celebrate! (Verdona): You humans are so daft. Gwen’s budding day, of course. She leans in and lightly punches Kevin in the arm. (Verdona, softly): And never say that, there’s always something to celebrate. (Ben): You have no idea what happened, do you? (Verdona): Of course I do, I could sense Gwen’s body dissipating like that from the next universe if it came to that! (leans in uncomfortably close to Ben) So, how’d you convince her? (Ben): We didn’t convince her of anything, she has no idea what she’s doing! (Verdona, confused): What do you mean? The episode cuts ahead a few minutes to the end of Ben’s explaination. He is now standing inside and leaning against the wall across from the door, and Verdona is leaning beside him thoughtfully. Kevin is nowhere to be seen. (Ben): … then she went full Anodite and flew off. And of course because she’s insane she didn’t tell us where she was going or what she was doing, and now she probably going to go around killing people, and if we don’t cure her of the poison in eight hours… (Verdona): So pretty much she cracked? (Ben): Yeah. Pretty much. (Verdona): (Put hand to mouth) Oh my. Oh my, this isn’t worth celebrating at all. Verdona turns around and paces forward a bit. Ben leans over and looks out the door at Kevin. He’s sitting in the middle of the yard, knees tucked in, looking extremely frustrated with himself and the world. (Verdona): So, this poison. Could you be a dear and find everything that might possible have had a role in its creation and execution on the battle site? (Ben): ‘Course. Ben runs to the door and activates the Ultimatrix. He slams it down and goes Jetray, then takes off. Scene cuts again to the future. Ben (as Jetray), Verdona, and Kevin are all sitting in Ben’s living room. Verdona is on the couch, Ben is standing on the opposite side of the coffee table from her, and Kevin is sitting in the corner, the only space big enough for him to fit, and barely. Ben dumps a pile of objects on the table: a cauldron, a spellbook, a cracked flask, some grass, a plank of yellow painted wood, and some asphalt. He then turns back into his human form. (Kevin): Wow, weird components. (Ben): They’re not all components. The spellbook was the only one out in her room, I guessing she used it, and the cauldron and flask both had the potion in it. The grass and painted wood were from the house that Kevin was slammed against when she was casting the spell, and this asphalt was broken up when she went Anodite. (beat) What? I thought they might be useful. (Verdona): Oh Ben, you may have the mana manipulation potential of a toaster oven, but you sure have a natural instinct with this! She stands up, leans over the table, and gives him a quick hug. (Ben, confused): Uh, thanks? (Verdona): So, let’s get started, shall we? Verdona picks up the grass and wood first. Her eyes glow, as does the plank. A second later she puts it down. (Verdona): Ah, yes, that spell. Transfers mental abnormalities. Quite useful, actually. Now let’s see what type of poison she used so we can get a antidote ready. She picks up the flask and scans it like the plank of wood. She suddenly looks up, horrified. She drops it and it shatters on the ground beside her feet. She is paralyzed for a moment, but then places her cupped hands over her face. (Ben, worriedly): Grandma? Grandma! She lowers her hands and stares blankly down at the table in front of her. (Verdona): Clever. (Kevin, leaning in): What is it? You can cure it, right? (Verdona): No, I can’t. It’s incurable. Kevin stares at her, terrified. (Verdona): The poison bonds trillions of corrupted mana particles to different key chakras in her body. To remove them we would have to wipe her entire field completely, and then she wouldn’t even be Gwen anymore. Kevin moves backward a bit, practically petrified, and knocks over a lamp by accident. He doesn’t even notice. (Verdona): I wouldn’t have been able to pull something this big off when I was twice as old as she was. I can’t help but be impressed. (Ben): So what can we do? (Verdona): I’m not sure… I’m sure there’s something. (to Kevin) Don’t grieve for her just yet. I will find a way to fix this. Actually, I think I have an idea. She stands up. (Verdona, to Ben): What would you be willing to do to save your cousin? (Ben, without hesitation): Anything! (Verdona, after a pause): I can sense how determined you are to do this, I know you’ll go through with my plan. I’m going to head back to Anodyne to gather materials. You two just hang tight here. (completely sincerely) If you see Gwen, good luck surviving. She snaps her fingers and disappears with a flash of white light. (Kevin): We have to find Gwen. (Ben): But I thought Verdona said… (Kevin): I don’t care what your Grandma said! If she is right and there is a way to fix Gwen, we have to make sure she stays on Earth long enough for it to happen. (Ben, angrily): Kevin!... (sigh) You’re right. (Kevin): I am? (Ben): I’ll go set up the map, you… how did you get in here anyway? A whistling noise beings to crescendo in the background. No one notices. (Kevin): How do you think? I phased. (Ben): Oh. Well, meet me- Suddenly, something bursts through the ceiling, on the empty side of the room, showering wood and paint and plaster everywhere. Gwen rises from the dust cloud. Her posture is awkward, as if she were a marionette in the hands of a child. She smiles at them, her head cocked slightly. COMMERCIAL BREAK Gwen begins walking toward them. (Gwen): Hello, Ben, Kevin. I just wanted to thank you for helping me see the light after all these years. If it weren’t for you I would still be trapped within that revolting substance you call flesh. (Kevin, softly): Gwen… (Gwen): Anyway, I will be off soon enough. (Kevin): Gwen, you’re making a mistake! Gwen stops and looks at Kevin confusedly. (Gwen): That may just be the absolute most selfish thing I have ever heard you say. Gwen looks back at both of them put her blank, smiling expression back on. (Gwen): Because I believe strongly in leaving a place better than it was when you arrived, I’m going to do a little cleaning up before I go. After that I’m going to head off somewhere else and do something I should have done LONG ago. Something I think will benefit us all. (Ben): Gwen, don’t do this, you’re confused! You’re not well. Verdona was just here, she knows what’s wrong, we can help you. (Gwen): I don’t need help. (beat) Well, I best be going. She floats off the ground and rockets through the roof once again. (Kevin): NO! He grabs at her leg and she flies away, but he misses and she vanishes. He stays frozen in that position with his arm extended for a few seconds. (Ben): …I’ll go set up the map. (Kevin): And then what? What are we supposed to do then? Just wait around? (Ben): No. We’re going after her. She said she was going to be doing some cleaning up, which I’m pretty sure translates to “I’m going to go kill off some bad guys.” We just need to find one of our enemies and wait. (Kevin): Well then let’s stop wasting time! (leaps up to his feet) You get the map up, I’ll meet you at the Rustbucket. The scene cuts ahead to the Rustbucket III landing right outside of a warehouse in the middle of the desert. The hatch opens and Ben and Kevin step out. Ben puts his hand above his eyes to block the bright sun. (Ben): Seems like a bit of a longshot, her going after this guy. (Kevin): He’s the only one I’ve got the location of. Now come on, we might be too late. Together they walk to the front of the warehouse. Ben tries the door, it’s locked. Ben slams down on the Ultimatrix and goes Big Chill, then he and Kevin phase through the wall. Ben turns back quickly. Waiting inside is one huge room, void of any furniture, but completely filled with rows and rows of zombie-like people with blank expressions. Suspended from the ceiling near the far wall is a huge clock, as well as a platform right under it which Sublimino is on, sitting in a rather fancy chair. All the people look directly up at him, suddenly alert but no less zombie-like. They stare at the scene with utter shock. Ben sighs. (Ben): Okay, I admit, I didn’t see that coming. (Sublimino, shouting): Who dares to intrude upon the lair of the great Sublimino?!? (Ben): Okay, dude, I thought hypnotizing an entire mall was bad, but kidnapping a bunch of helpless people and storing them in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere? That’s just pushing it. Sublimino snaps his fingers and four of the people pick up his chair and carry him down the stairs over to Ben and Kevin. They set him down right in front of them, then back away, staring coldly. (Sublimino): Wait a minute, you’re that brat who jumped me on the clock at the mall! (Ben): The very same. And now I’m about to be the brat who’ll stop you again from doing… uh, what are you doing exactly? (Sublimino, cheerful in an evil way): Oh, same as before, putting together an army of hypnotized civilians to take over the country. Only this time I’m keeping the main clock under close watch so that history doesn’t repeat itself. Except that requires that no one knows this place is even here, which means we’re going to have to kill you. He snaps his fingers again, and the first two rows of hypnotized people charge. Ben activates the Ultimatrix again and goes Goop. He begins to dodge the mob’s strikes, weaving through punches and kicks and slipping out of grabs. A few of them reach Kevin and start to crawl up his legs, so he swats them off like ants. Those people go flying and smash into the wall. (Ben, as Goop): Keviiin, don’t hurt theeem! They’re the victims heeere! (Kevin): Ugh! Fine then! He jumps upwards and unfolds his wings, sending out a blast of icy air which knocks many of them down. He keeps hovering. (Ben): Weee have to find a way to deeestroy the clock! (Kevin): (holds out hand ready to fire a fireball) I got it! (Ben): No, Keviiiin, this room is tooo small, the debreeeee will injure half the peeeople in here! (Kevin, frustrated): Than what am I supposed to do!?! (Ben): Working on it! Some of the people take out guns and begin firing at Kevin. He puts up a Brainstorm electricity shield to block the bullets. (Kevin): Alright, this is really ''starting to get on my nerves! Kevin hears a muffled buzzing noise. He takes a Plumber’s badge out of his pocket and puts it up to his ear. (Kevin): Hello? (Voice on the Phone): Hey, is this Kevin? (Kevin): Yeah. And you are? (Voice on the Phone): I’m Deon. (Kevin): …um, what? (Voice on the Phone): You’ve never met me, but I’m with Max. Point is, we think we’ve found who you’re looking for. (Kevin, excited and tense): Gwen? Where is she?!? (Voice on the Phone): We didn’t see her for long, but she looked like she was heading for alleged Forever Knights base off the coast of Virginia. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth checking out. (Kevin): Send us the coordinates. (Voice on the Phone): Got it. Kevin hangs up. (Kevin): Ben, they’ve found Gwen, we gotta go! (Ben): What? And leave all these people here? (Kevin): They’ll still be here in 6 hours. Gwen, on the other hand...! Ben continues to weave through the strikes of the hypnotized people, but he appears to be in deep thought. After a moment, just leaps up out of the crowd and switches to Big Chill. (Sublimino): Wait, where are you going? GET THEM! The crowd begins shooting them even more. They both just go intangible and ignore them. (Ben): You’re right. Let’s get out of here. Ben flies out through the wall, and Kevin follows after him. The people run up to the wall and begin banging on it to no avail. ... The scene cuts to the inside of a Forever Knights base. The hallway in lined with suits of armor and old paintings of knights and coats of arms. The windows have red velvet drapes, and through the glass you can see under the ocean with fish swimming by. It is completely silent and still, with no background music even. Suddenly, a Forever Knight in full battle gear is flung across the hall and smashes into the wall, then collapsing on the floor and passing out. A shadow flitters past silently. Two more knights stand in front of a grand door. They hear the crash and pull up their weapons immediately. (Knight 1): Who goes there? A pink glow emanates from off screen. The guards step back in fear. Suddenly, two pink-white glowing tendrils shoot out from the camera and impale both of them through the chest. Both of them collapse as soon as they’re pulled out. High Forever King Roland stands up from his armchair, a tricked out bow and arrow in hand. He aims it and notches an arrow as Gwen walks into the room. He doesn’t flinch at the sight of her. (Roland): You are not welcome here, demon. (Gwen): As you are not welcome in the world of the living. Roland releases the arrow. It flies through the air and impales Gwen right between the eyes. She doesn’t flinch. The arrow begins to glow bright pink, then vaporizes. She snaps her fingers, and two suits of armor with dragon helmets come to life on either side of him. They yank away his bow, then hold him tight by the airs. He struggles futilely. She leans close to him. (Gwen): Don’t worry, I will make this quick. Not to say I won’t make this painful. She reaches out her hand and is about to touch his face with it. (Gwen, creepily): Good night, your majesty. She puts her hand on his face, just as her hand is beginning to glow. The camera cuts to a shot just outside the room, the door closed, both the guards laying motionless on the floor. Roland agonized scream cuts through the air, and the screen flashes to black. ''End of Part 1 Author's Note I kinda forget the exact sequence of events of Absolute Power, so the beginning will probably have to be edited. Sorry for any inaccuracy. Category:Episodes Category:Series Premieres Category:Binkatong Category:Ben 10: Eternal Forms Category:Story Arc Category:Two-Part Episodes